4 - William II: the challenger

Summary

William II was stadholder for a shorter time than any other Prince of Orange, but none had a more powerful impact upon the institution of the stadholderate. He challenged to the quick the ambiguity upon which the government of the Dutch Republic had always rested – the sovereignty of the States overlapping the leadership, always military and sometimes political, of the House of Orange. On the one hand, in law the ultimate power rested beyond question in the States assemblies, although just how it was shared between the provincial States and the States General was not settled with absolute clarity and precision; on the other hand, the Princes of Orange were not mere subjects but a quasi-hereditary if not quasi-monarchical power whose judgment and will could not be neglected by the sovereigns. William II drew together some of the most significant threads of the political life of the country until his time, and in the dramatic events of the summer of 1650 almost created a new constitutional fabric. That he did not do so may have been only a question of his early death a few months later, hacking off intentions of revolutionary transformation which he kept concealed, as some historians have contended; or he may have had in mind much less than they thought, seeking only new policies rather than a crown. In either case, he brought about a deep change in the character of political debate and struggle in the United Provinces.